Betty James: I'm a Little Mixed Up (1961)

Careers can been pretty short sometimes, witness the case of Betty James out of Baltimore who played the club circuit with her husband on guitar and son on bass.

She was heard by a couple of ambitious entrepreneurs --Bobby Johnson and Joe Evans -- who had her record I'm a Little Mixed Up for their New York label Cee Jay.

It became a hit in the city but Chess Records in Chicago heard it, licenced it for national release and . . .

Not a lot.

Chess stuck with her for two more equally unsuccessful singles then dropped her, and her final recording was for the tiny Delpris label.

And that was her carer, such as it was.

After that the trail went cold but it is thought she just went back to Baltimore and the club circuit where she was probably better appreciated.

It's a fairly decent stab of rhythm and blues and it appeared on the excellent four CD collection The History of Rhythm and Blues 1957 - 1962, one in the excellent chronological r'n'b collections we wrote about here, here and here.

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For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.